Filtering Posts by Month: April, 2014

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Radio convinces people you're the best choice BEFORE they even need your services.

The Premier HVAC Company In Wilmington, DE & Philadelphia Tapped MYM’s Radio Marketing Expertise To Expand Their Brand’s Footprint & Prestige.

“How Am I Going To Know If This Works?”

Written by Rich Harshaw.

Mark Aitken, co-owner and President of Horizon Services of Wilmington, DE, is one of the most intense individuals I have ever met.

He’s the kind of guy that you’d HATE to work for if you’re lazy, disloyal, sloppy, or lack initiative. He eats people like that for breakfast—by the handful.

Good thing, too. His intolerance for anything other than “A-Game performance” has allowed him to grow Horizon Services into one of the biggest and most well-run HVAC companies in the country with over 200 trucks, 8,000 monthly transactions, and nearly $100 million in sales. This is a company that does EVERYTHING right… and in the rare instance where they don’t, they find out why, fix it, and get even better than they were before. His competition doesn’t stand a chance. Mark Aitken and his superstar-caliber team are in the process of literally monopolizing their marketplace.Read More

Keep It Simple, Conversational, And Authentic… And You’ll Be Surprised At How Well Listeners Respond.

Written by Rich Harshaw.

Note: This article is part of Monopolize Your Marketplace’s ongoing “Client Success” series. All of the information is real and current; please respect the privacy of the companies mentioned; they don’t want to be overwhelmed with questions and comments.

Okay, so you’ve decided part of your contractor marketing to advertising on the radio. You’ve picked and negotiated your stations, and you’ve committed to at least 6 or 12 months to give your ads some time to speak to your target market and nurture them along. Now comes the hard part—writing great ads that will move the needle.

But how do you write an effective advertisement? What elements need to be present—and what should you avoid? Glad you asked! Here are my top pieces of advice for writing great radio ads:

POINT 1: Start With Identity: A common mistake is to make your radio ad a “menu board” style ad. Think about a menu—it shows what’s for sale and how much it costs. This leads to ads that say things like “We’re a locally owned company that can help you with whatever remodeling projects you have… from energy-saving windows to durable siding to award winning roofing.”Read More

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Everybody Likes A Good DJ… But Do You Really Want One Voicing Your Ad?

The Question of Whether or Not To Use DJ’s As The Voice Of Your Radio Commercials Is A Bit Thorny…

Written by Rich Harshaw

Rich:

We have been on the radio for a long time, and we’ve used a variety of voices for our ads over the years. Our most common tactic is to have the DJ’s from the stations we are on (or program hosts, for talk radio) provide the voices. The prices they charge are pretty reasonable, and it seems to be working. But I heard you on a webinar say you recommend one single voice, not multiple voices. Can you give me some of the pros and cons of using the DJs? We are about to double down on radio, and I want to make sure we get it right.

Don Crowley, Eagle Mountain Windows

Great question, Don—and one that comes up all the time, so I’m going to address it in detail here on this blog posting. As with most contractor marketing topics, there is not necessarily an easy “black and white” answer; there are definitely shades of gray. Since you asked me about the pros and cons, that’s exactly how I’ll give my answer.

Small-Town Stations Allow You To Get More Bang For Your Buck… It’s All About Identity & Execution.

“I’d Move To A Small Town And Absolutely OWN IT.”

That’s the answer I give contractors who ask me the hypothetical “what would you do if you were just starting out in your own remodeling company?”

Written by Rich Harshaw

Note: This article is part of Monopolize Your Marketplace’s ongoing contractor marketing “Client Success” series. All of the information is real and current; please respect the privacy of the companies mentioned; they don’t want to be overwhelmed with questions and comments.

The downside to owning a small-town remodeling company is the limited number of prospects compared to a big city. But with those smaller numbers also comes fewer competitors… and more importantly: CHEAP MEDIA BUYS.

Think about it—you can make just as much money PER JOB in a little town as you can in a big city. If you sell windows, for example, and your average job is $6,000 with $3,000 of gross profit, you’ll clear $60,000 a month in gross profit if you sell 20 jobs. And let’s assume you allocate 10% of sales (20% of gross profit) to marketing and advertising—that gives you a monthly budget of $12,000.

If you are sitting in the middle of Dallas (where I live), that $12,000 will buy you a very small schedule on a very small station—and those listeners will be scattered for literally hundreds of miles around the area. And oh by the way, that would burn your ENTIRE budget. In a small town, on the other hand, you can OWN a top-ranked radio station for a couple thousand bucks a month. You could allocate a reasonable ONE-THIRD of your budget to radio… and make really nice buys on two good stations.